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Saturday, May 5, 2012

Sepia Saturday #124 - Mt. Vernon, IL Car Manufacturing Co - Car Shops

This postcard shows six (unidentified) workers from the Mt. Vernon, IL Car Manufacturing Co or better known as the "Car Shops." It's not a miniature train like the one in Sepia Saturday's theme this week, but I thought it would be a great entry anyway. The car shops manufactured train cars in Mt. Vernon starting in 1890 and lasting for sixty-four years. The first president of the shops was David O. Settlemire; his son-in-law Walter C. Arthurs was his secretary-treasurer. During its heyday around 1912, 50 cars a day were rolled out. My own great-grandfather, Joseph W. Wade was for a time a Foreman/Manager at the car shops around 1912- 1928 and was quite prosperous.

Unfortunately, this postcard was not mailed so there is no postmark date. However, by using the symbol in the upper right hand corner on the back side of the postcard "Cyko" I was able to determine this card was made between 1906 and 1915.

Yes, Bob, in fact the car shops production slowed down dramatically starting around the 1930's until their closing in the 1950's which pretty much decimated the economy of the town as it was the largest employer. They did manage to bounce back to some extent.

The shops worked a full crew until the late 50s. When it was closed the men went to work at the shops in Centralia, Il., Beech Grove, In., Washington, In. and other places that had RR yards. There was still Wagner Elec., the Stove Foundry, Dowzer Elec. Shoe factory and a few other places that were working. It was said that Mt. Vernon would die once the shops closed but it never. When General Tire opened in '73 it was a huge shot in the arm and the town once again had jobs. However, Mt. Vernon has been losing population since then. In '52 the population was around 15,600 and today, after annexing several areas into the city limits the population is only 15,284.

Hi Teresa, it shows how dedicated people were and happy to have a secure job. It is such a shame that so many manufacturing all over the world has gone to China, because of the cheaper wages and bigger profits. But it is such a wrong attitude. I saw a film about Detroit, the car manufacturing practically finished. USA produced beautifulmerchandise. In the 1960 I got my first dishwasher produced in USA!Anyway; it has happened all over the world Politicians are hopeless. You are clever to have found out the date of the postcard. All the best T.

About Me

I'm an amateur genealogist, with my roots in Southern Illinois and living in South Florida for many years. I'm fascinated with those who came before and the history they left behind. I started my blogs to document the plethora of information I have found on both my husband's wonderful ancestral history and my own, hoping it will help me to see them more clearly and as something to leave for my sons and grandsons. I can't stay out of the antique stores and love collecting old postcards and photographs. I just can't resist buying those discarded orphan pictures of "other people's ancestors." I welcome comments or you can email me at tyrogers31@gmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!